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Iraq Warns Total over KRG Oil Deal

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By John Lee.
Iraqi authorities have warned France’s Total that it must freeze its energy deal with Iraqi Kurdistan or sell its stake in the Halfaya oilfield, reports Reuters.
Faisal Abdullah, a spokesman for Deputy Prime Minister for Energy Hussain al-Shahristani, said:
“Iraq has officially asked Total to freeze or cancel its contract with the Kurdish region and respect Iraqi law or sell its stake in Halfaya oilfield … We have made it clear to Total they have only two choices. There is no third option.“
He did not specify any deadline for Total to comply with Baghdad’s request. According to a report from Bloomberg, Total declined to comment.
The Halfaya oil field has reserves of 4.95 billion barrels. PetroChina, a subsidiary of China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC), China’s largest energy producer, holds 37.5% of the Halfaya consortium, while Total and Petronas each hold a 18.75% stake in the consortium, with Iraq’s state partner holding the remaining 25%.(Sources: Reuters, Bloomberg)
(Picture: Total HQ, Paris)